FRIDAY JANUARY 13th 2023

First-Party Data is the New Oil.

With the demise of third-party cookies to protect user privacy and adhere to regulations such as GDPR, marketers need new ways to capture customer information. This poses a challenge for many organizations that have relied on cookies to not only advertise through digital channels but track user behavior.

However, with the emergence of new technologies, marketers can now build a robust customer database that provides insights into their customers’ buying habits, purchase history and other valuable data points.

In the past, companies were happy to simply collect data and use it to drive sales. But now, businesses are using customer data to help them outperform competition and enhance their services.

Businesses’ capacities to contextualize data and pull new insights from it are growing as the proliferation of data collecting and analysis tools increases. Unfortunately, many top security vulnerabilities, emphasis on privacy and new laws have spurred new data protection restrictions, making the collecting process much more difficult.

Many of us are spending more and more time online. And that's a good thing—it means you can reach more people, find more customers and clients, and grow your business. But it also means you need to be aware of how much data is being collected about you and your customers.

Data collection is important for marketing because it helps us understand our target audience better. We can figure out what they like, what they want, and how we can make sure we're providing it to them in the most effective way possible.

And one of the best ways to do this is by collecting data from your own customers—and not just about what they buy from you, but also how they feel about their experiences with your company.

Data is a hot topic right now. It's everywhere, and it can be used to help businesses make decisions and improve their products, services, and processes. But what type of data is the most important in the current market? What should you concentrate on? Here are some of the data types collected by top businesses in the market –

Personal Data – Personal data contains both personally identifiable information, such as your name or Social Security number, and non-identifiable information like the IP address of a computer you use to connect to the internet.

Engagement Data – Describes how customers interact with a company’s various web assets including its website and mobile apps as well as social network sites, emails or sponsored advertisements.

Behavioral Data – This includes purchase histories, product use information (quantitative data) and qualitative feedback.

Altitudinal Data – The data includes indicators of consumer happiness, buying criteria and product appeal.

Customer data is more than just a record of your customer’s buying habits. It can also be used to identify opportunities for promotions, improve customer experience and increase sales. By using the right tools, you can gain valuable insights into your customer’s behaviors and preferences so that you can better meet their needs.

If you're looking for ways to collect data from your customers, here are some of the best options:

Transaction Record – Transaction data describe an event. This information always comprises a number value, a time reference, and one or more people or things. Receipts, transactions, and purchases are examples of transaction data. Exchanges in stores with sales employees or phone interactions with a customer representative are also recorded in transaction records. Companies can also get information from online discussions.

Surveys – Conducting surveys is one of the best ways to collect data. Businesses can also disseminate customer surveys to solicit consumer feedback and contact information. The survey results generate customer profiles and improve infrastructure.

Consumers may be more inclined to give you their contact information if they believe you care about improving their lives.

Contests – Contests are another great way to collect user data. Other legal ways to obtain data on your consumers include contests and tournaments. Customers will be more likely to join if genuine incentives and rewards are offered. Make sure your competitions always include a client information form that they must complete if they want to join.

Product Registration- Businesses today are becoming more switched on when it comes to warranties and product registrations. After all, these are ideal opportunities to collect first-party data and form a connection with new customers. 

Try including QR stickers on products to get new customers involved and scanned into your database. These relationships can then be deepened over time with text messages and emails. 

Rethinking and refining first-party data collection methods is nothing new, as marketers have always sought to understand their customers better. 

In a climate where the pressure to target and change policies is mounting across multiple channels, marketers can see this as an opportunity to accelerate their collection efforts, which in turn will scale up the value they deliver.

First-party data collection has been a staple of marketing for decades. But it's not just about collecting more data—it's also about understanding how to use it more effectively.

By taking a closer look at your existing methods, you can identify areas for improvement and find ways to improve your results through better targeting, segmentation, and personalization.

Pesach Lattin
Pesach@lattin.us

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